The Best Kept Secrets...: The Secret Affair

He shrugged. “No harm done. It is what it is. It seems the four of us got a reputation we’ve been trying to live down for years. But I’m sure that’s not the reputation of mine that you were really referring to.”

No, it wasn’t. “I understand you like women.”

He chuckled. “Most men do.”

She raised a brow, not in the least amused. “I mean you really like them, but you don’t care about their feelings. You break their hearts without any concern for the pain it might cause.”

He studied her for a long moment. “That’s what you heard?”

“Yes. And now you want me to believe that you’re seriously considering settling down one day, marrying and having a family?”

“Yes. One doesn’t have anything to do with the other. What I do now in no way affects any future plans. I need to clarify something. I don’t deliberately set out to break any woman’s heart. I tell any woman I date the truth up front—my career as a doctor is foremost. However, if she refuses to take me at my word and assumes that she can change my mind, then it’s not my fault when she finds out otherwise.”

“So in other words...”

“In other words, Jillian, I don’t intentionally set up any woman for heartbreak or lead her on,” he answered curtly.

She knew she should probably leave well enough alone and stop digging, but for some reason she couldn’t help herself. “However, you do admit to dating a lot of women.”

“Yes, I admit it. And why not? I’m single and don’t plan to get into a committed relationship anytime soon. And contrary to what you believe, I don’t date as many women as you might think. My time is pretty limited these days because of medical school.”

She could imagine. How he managed to date at all while in medical school was beyond her. He was definitely into multitasking. She’d discovered most relationships demanded a lot of work and it was work she didn’t have time for. Evidently he made things easy by not getting serious with any woman. At least he’d been honest about it. He dated women for the fun of it and didn’t love any of them.

“I have one other question for you, Aidan,” she said, after drawing in a deep breath.

“What’s your question?”

“If all of what you said is true, about not getting serious with any woman, then why did you kiss me?”

* * *

Now that was a good question, one he could answer but really didn’t want to. She did deserve an answer, though, especially after the way he had plowed her mouth earlier. She was twenty-one, five years younger than him. And although she’d held her own during their kiss, he knew they were worlds apart when it came to sexual experience. Therefore, before he answered her, he needed to ask a few questions of his own.

“Why did you kiss me back?”

He could tell by her expression that she was surprised by his counterquestion. And, as he’d expected, she tried to avoid giving him an answer. “That’s not the issue here.”

He couldn’t help but smile. Little did she know it was the issue, but he would touch on that later. “The reason I kissed you, Jillian, is because I was curious. I think you have a beautiful pair of lips and I wanted to taste them. I wanted to taste you. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while.”

He saw her jaw drop and had to hold his mouth closed for a second to keep from grinning. She hadn’t expected him to answer her question so bluntly or to be so direct. That’s something she needed to know about him. He didn’t sugarcoat anything. Straightforward could be his middle name.

“So now that you know my reason for kissing you, what was your reason for kissing me back?”

She began nibbling on her bottom lip. Watching her made him ache, made him want to take hold of those lips and have his way with them again.

“I—I was...”

When she didn’t say anything else, he lifted a brow. “You were what?”

Then she had the nerve to take her tongue and lick those same lips she’d been nibbling on moments ago. “I was curious about you, too.”

He smiled. Now they were getting somewhere. “I can understand that. I guess the reason you asked about the kiss is because I told you I’m not into serious relationships when it comes to women. I hope you don’t think a deep kiss constitutes a serious relationship.”

From the look on her face, which she quickly wiped off, that’s exactly what she’d thought. She was more inexperienced than he’d assumed. He wondered just how inexperienced she was. Most twenty-one-year-old women he knew wore desire, instead of their hearts, on their sleeves.

“Of course I knew that.”

If she knew that then why were they having this conversation? If she thought he was looking for something serious just because he’d kissed her then she was so far off the mark it wasn’t funny.

“How many boyfriends have you had?”

“Excuse me?”

No, he wouldn’t excuse her. There were certain things she needed to know. Things experience had nothing to do with. “I asked how many boyfriends you’ve had. And before you tell me it’s none of my business, I’m asking for a reason.”

She lifted her chin in a defiant pose. “I can’t imagine what reason you would have for needing to know that.”

“So you can protect yourself.” He thought she looked both adorable and sexy. From the way her curly hair tumbled down her shoulders to the way the smoothness of her skin shone in the sunlight.

She lifted a brow. “Against men like you?”

“No. Men like me would never mislead you into thinking there was anything serious about a kiss. But there are men who would lead you to think otherwise.”

She frowned. “And you don’t think I can handle myself?”

He smiled. “Not the way I think you should. For some reason you believe you can avoid kisses until you’re in a serious relationship and there are certain kisses that can’t be avoided.”

He could tell by her expression that she didn’t believe him. “Take the kiss we shared earlier. Do you honestly think you could have avoided it once I got started?” he asked her.

Her frown deepened. “Yes, of course I could have.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

She rolled her eyes. “I told you. The only reason I allowed you to kiss me, and the only reason I participated, is because I was curious.”

“Really?”

She rolled her eyes again. “Really. Truly.”

“So, you’re not curious anymore?”

She shook her head. “Nope, not at all. I wondered what kissing you was like and now I know.”

Deciding to prove her wrong and settle the matter once and for all, he moved away from the tree and walked toward her.

Figuring out his intent, she stood with a scowl on her face. “Hold it right there, Aidan Westmoreland. Don’t you dare think you’re going to kiss me again.”

When he reached her, he came to a stop directly in front of her and she refused to back up. Instead she stood her ground. He couldn’t help but admire her spunk, although in this case it would be wasted.